Joseph Fountain, candidate for Springfield City Council, chastises the New North Citizens Council

This is an unedited press release from the campaign of Joseph Fountain for Springfield City Council.

Joseph R. Fountain

SPRINGFIELD _ City Council Candidate Joseph Fountain chastised the New North Citizen’s Council and Michael Denney for keeping white candidates out of opportunities to reach member’s of the Latino Community.

Fountain said, “for 18 years I have been a community activist, and paid a heavy professional price for starting the Ward Representation fight and supporting candidates of color. For years I have been criticized for volunteering with Rep. Benjamin Swan, but I believed I was and am working for the community.”

“The NNCC through the campaigns of Mayor Sarno and Jose Tosado ran a slate of Latino Candidates, Miguel Soto and Amaad Rivera,” Fountain said. “ “Not once was I contacted, yet repeatedly I have contacted Mr. Denney about meetings and opportunities to gain support. My politics are closer inline with Latino Voters than 4 out of the top 5 candidates from the primary.”

“I know the likelihood of myself being competitive with a Latino is historically slim, but the opportunity to reach a Latino Voter and explain my work on ward representation would have meant a lot. How many people in the City of Springfield know that if it wasn’t for me and a few others Zaida Luna, Melvin Edwards, Henry Twiggs, Clado Concepcion, Amaad Rivera and John Lysak wouldn’t have City Council seats,” Fountain said.

“The Newspaper has been fare with me thus far, but 14 years ago when I started the ward representation fight, they wrote me out of the story. The politicians I worked with are the same power elite I have had to try to ask support from, and they still scoff at me,” Fountain said.

“We are on a slippery slope, 5 of the top 6 candidates for at large seats live in ward 7 and there really is a chance that all five could come from ward 7.”